Android 12 available for Pixel phones

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#2798394 21-Oct-2021 07:24

timmmay: the pull down menu to do things like turn WiFi on and off has less items in it without scrolling. How's that working?

Not good for me. Four items default and huge. Full text and small icons. Worse, three clicks required to turn off wifi. Vs one click in a10/11. Feature allows change of wifi network three clicks required for that too.

timmmay

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#2798411 21-Oct-2021 08:16

I found some opinions on Reddit / thread two:

Ugly clock that can't be changed / removed - not sure if on lockscreen or main screen
Slide down menu more difficult to use, and WiFi / mobile data may be linked now
Most people don't like the new quick settings
Google Maps maybe not working quite right
Some people saying it's a lot slower, some saying it's quite quick
Many saying it looks good, more polished, copying iOS
Some people are downgrading, some people love it

nzgeek

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#2798758 21-Oct-2021 13:05

The biggest annoyance for me is related to the app drawer. It used to be that I swiped up from the bottom of the screen to get the app switcher, and then again to bring up the app drawer. Now I have to go back to the home screen, then swipe up from part-way up the screen.

The thing that bugs me most about this isn't breaking my muscle memory. It's that swiping from the bottom of the screen requires very little accuracy, compared with tapping a specific little area at the bottom of the screen.

I don't know if this gesture was ever supported in anything except the Pixel launcher, which is probably why it was removed. It's still annoying.

timmmay

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#2798761 21-Oct-2021 13:07

@nzgeek you could try Nova Launcher, I've been using that for years. Not sure what gestures it supports but generally it's really good.

gzt

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#2798811 21-Oct-2021 14:24

I have the feeling colour temperature has changed in pixel A12 compared to pixel A11. It feels like my Nokia 7.2 on A10/A11 that I did not like and was trying to get away from. Eyestrain feeling.

nate

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#2798812 21-Oct-2021 14:25

Been using it most of today, I like the new design stuff, and it's nice to have a slight change from Android 11.

Phone seems snappier too, so I'm pretty happy.

gzt

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#2798916 21-Oct-2021 19:15

timmmay: Sounds promising. Like @gzt I have my phone background set to dark, mostly because that way when I check it at night I don't get too much light to wake me up. Can I still have my lock screen background black with white / gray text?

No issues with that. The default white text seems bright on black. Don't know where to change text colour yet.

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nzgeek

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#2799063 21-Oct-2021 21:28

timmmay: you could try Nova Launcher

I doubt it'll help. There's plenty of launchers that support gestures, but you have to return to the home screen (i.e. the launcher itself) for those gestures to work.

The double swipe up that no longer works could be used from anywhere. One swipe got you to the task switcher, the second brought up the app drawer.

If a launcher could listen for gestures made anywhere, I don't think I'd trust it. You'd be allowing a third party app to listen to all screen inputs at all times, and that's a major security risk I'd rather not take.

MartinGZ

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#2799093 21-Oct-2021 22:49

nzgeek:
timmmay: you could try Nova Launcher

........

If a launcher could listen for gestures made anywhere, I don't think I'd trust it.

It's off topic, but I've been using Nova Prime since 2013 without issue and there have been over 50 million downloads. I reckon that if there were issues they would have surfaced by now. Or, of course 50 million of us could wake up with a big wipeout in the morning. At some point you have to deside on the balance of probablility - so, I'm not stopping my use of Nova any time soon.

Nokia 6110, 6210, 6234, Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1, Huawei Ideos X5 (Windows Mobile), Samsung Galaxy SIII, LG G4, OnePlus 5, iPhone Xs Max (briefly), S21 Ultra. And I thought I hadn't had many phones - but the first one around 1997.

timmmay

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#2799104 22-Oct-2021 06:33

So, people have had Android 12 for a day. Are you generally happy with it? Wish you hadn't upgraded? Somewhere in between?

nzgeek

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#2799272 22-Oct-2021 10:38

:shrug:

OS stability seems fine. It's just the UI changes (e.g. the notifications pull-down and the quick settings tiles) that are hard to adjust to.

I wouldn't say that it's a definite must-have upgrade, but I don't think it's a must-avoid upgrade either.

MartinGZ:

I've been using Nova Prime since 2013 without issue and there have been over 50 million downloads. I reckon that if there were issues they would have surfaced by now.

It's what the launcher does in the future that scares me. All it takes is being bought, or having a change in management, and a previously safe but of software can turn bad. Unless an alternative is significantly better, I tend to stick with the OS defaults.

Rodimvs

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#2799287 22-Oct-2021 10:56

For me everything seems to work pretty much as it did in Android11.

I don't really like the look of new quick settings tiles, the clock on the lock screen, or the passcode screen but it all works fine.

Don't regret upgrading, but I liked the look of 11 better.

gzt

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#2799428 22-Oct-2021 13:53

timmmay: So, people have had Android 12 for a day. Are you generally happy with it? Wish you hadn't upgraded? Somewhere in between?

During the lockdown week I use only a few functions. Mail, geekzone, maps, bluetooth on/off (car), wifi on/off, aeroplane on/off. I use wifi on/off all the time as a power saving strategy. That last one is severely impacted by the UI change. I always upgrade on release. Just the way it is.

On the surface this feels like one of the legendary Firefox redesign screams of a few years back. Oh yeah.. rounded corners everywhere.. why replace symbols with text in the tray? why no option? don't know.

Imo not much of this will bother me in a month or so. I really hope to see a one click wifi control in next release tho.

timmmay

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#2799458 22-Oct-2021 14:09

The difficult to toggle WiFi and Mobile Data would bug me. There are probably apps / widgets that would do that, but none as easy as Android 11 makes it.

lchiu7

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#2799876 23-Oct-2021 15:24

Just upgraded my Pixel 4XL. Looks but I have encountered a strange bug. On the at a glance screen I always showed weather and upcoming events like this

I could choose the event to open the calendar or press the temperature icon to bring up weather. Now it always brings up the calendar.

If I turn off upcoming events and show only the weather, then pressing that does bring up the weather app.

Any ideas?

[FIXED] Just went to At a Glance and turned off all the options and then turn them on one by one and now Preston weather shows weather and calendar show calendar. Must be a bug in the code somewhere

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